


A Statement of Doom

by Unda



Category: Homestuck, The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:08:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24478471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unda/pseuds/Unda
Summary: Short little SolKat fic for my buddy's birthday in a The Magnus Archives AU. I'm not even fully up to date yet and I love it so much already.
Relationships: Sollux Captor/Karkat Vantas
Comments: 16
Kudos: 116





	A Statement of Doom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [apocalypticTaco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/apocalypticTaco/gifts).



You’re not stupid and you know you’re not crazy either. Well, bipolar disorder aside, you’re not crazy. You’re pretty sure that you’re actually remarkably sane given what you go through. So you’d researched what happens with you, tried to find others and see what if anything could be done. You found a lot of crackpot people, some just obviously trolling online, some people gawking at others with genuine mental problems that caused delusions. That one rubbed you the wrong way because you’ve been in a state where you’ve seen things that aren’t there before. 

Actually, it’s the fact that you have hallucinated before that reassures you. The way that feels and the way your visions are is so distinct that you know they’re not the same. Eventually a detail kept coming up in your searches, The Magnus Institute. So… fuck it, right? 

You head down to London, trying to ignore the feel of impending doom on some of your fellow passengers on the train. Passing a coughing man you wince because you know he’s got hours left. 

The Institute is actually remarkably boring from the outside, but not on the inside. 

When you step through the door you stop and stare at a short, chubby man furiously flailing a broom around and swearing. 

“FUCK! OFF! FUCK RIGHT BACK OFF TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM WITH YOUR WAY TOO MANY GROSS HAIRY LEGS AND DON’T! COME! BACK” the man snarls as he smacks the wall with each angry word. 

The wall is covered in tiny spiders that flee from his broom. 

“Uhhhh.” you say, because what else can you say? 

The man whirls around at you, looking as intimidating as a five foot nothing dude in a goddamn sweater vest can possibly look. He points the broom at you suspiciously for a second and you wince back from the spider goo on the bristles. 

“This is The Magnus Institute, right?” you ask. 

“Oh. Yeah, it is. Sorry about all this, we’re having a bit of a *problem* right now.” the man tells you. He narrows his eyes at a spider once more and squashes it. 

“That’s an understatement.” you agree. 

“You’re here to make a statement, right? You have that kind of look about you.” the man says as he lowers the broom again. 

“Yeah, I am.” you nod. 

“Thought so. Normally I’d say take a seat out here but I wouldn’t advise it right now. Come with me, I’m Karkat by the way.” he introduces himself and motions for you to follow him. 

“Sollux.” you reply uneasily and trail after him. 

Karkat leads you to an office that’s more mess than clean space and hefts some files off of a chair so you can sit down. He curses absently as he rummages through some drawers to find a form and a pen. 

“Our archivist is the one who takes the statements but she’s out at the moment but she’s supposed to be back soon. I can take your details though.” Karkat explains. 

He asks your name, address, contact details and the topic of your statement. 

“I see people's deaths.” you tell him and you wait for the skepticism, the kind everyone has. 

“Does it feel like a knowledgy thing or a dying thing?” Karkat asks instead as he casually picks up a pad of small sticky notes, the kind you use to mark your place in a book that you’re studying rather than the kind you make notes on. They seem to have symbols printed on them. 

“Uh… both? I hear the voices of people about to die but if I pass by someone who’s going to I just know if they’ve not got long left. There’s a range on it, twenty two miles, unless it’s a really big disaster and lots of people die at once, then it’s further.” you say, supplying more information because you can’t really believe that he’s taking what you’re saying at face value. 

“Hm.” Karkat muses and finally peels off two of the little sticky tabs, a green one with an eye and a grey one with a skull and sticks them to the edge of the form. 

“Sorry that happens to you, sounds like it sucks dick to be honest.” Karkat says sympathetically. 

“No, that’s way more enjoyable.” you reply immediately, you know, before your brain catches up with you. Karkat laughs though and leans on the desk with his elbow and rests his chin in his hand with a smile playing on his lips, oh damn. 

“Yeah, it is. But you get my point.” Karkat agrees. 

Shit, think of something intelligent to ask him so he doesn’t think you’re an idiot. 

“Do you get a lot of statements here?” you ask. 

“A shitload.” he nods. 

“Is that a scientific term?” you ask him teasingly. 

“It might be in this field, you don’t know.” Karkat huffs. 

“So what’s wrong with you then?” you blurt out, so much for smart.

“Excuse you?” Karkat says, his eyes narrowing at you. 

“I mean… this place, you’re not surprised by anything I said. I can’t see that a normal person would get a job here. So…” you trail off. 

“I will have you know I’m the most normal person in this building. I have no strange powers or abilities whatsoever.” he tells you haughtily and leans back in his chair. 

“Bullshit.” you call him on it and Karkat bristles. 

“No, it’s not! I’m normal, everyone I happen to talk to just isn’t. All my friends are… I won’t say monsters but they’re not normal for sure. I’m normal.” he insists. 

You open your mouth to question him more on that subject when movement catches your eye. You look around. Kakrat’s room is square and overfilled with stuff. Files, papers, boxes. It definitely only had the one door in it when you came in. 

“That wasn’t there.” you say slowly. 

“Oh, stay there.” Karkat tells you and gets up with a stretch. As he reaches the door there’s a knock from the other side. Karkat opens the door and an arm flies out of it, past him and bounces off of the floor, making Karkat shriek and you leap to your feet. 

“Oh man, you should have seen your FACE!” a man laughs, doubled over. Behind him you can see a woman with long black hair and when she laughs it echoes around in your skull. The man who’s laughing is missing an arm, that arm in fact and he’s wearing a breastplate that looks like it belongs on a knight mannequin in the imperial war museum. 

“You ASSHOLES.” Karkat hisses at them both and stomps off to pick up the arm. 

“Come on Karkat, it was very funny.” the woman smiles, slightly too wide. 

“No, it wasn’t, you suck and you people are the reason I can’t have carpet in here.” Karkat grumbles. 

“My heart bleeds for you, also my shoulder. Is Rose back?” the knight guy says as he steps into the room, the woman stays leaning against the doorframe. 

“Not yet and take this with you, I have company, Dave. Now fuck off.” Karkat demands and tosses the arm at the knight who catches it with his remaining one. 

Dave looks at you for the first time and when you lock eyes with him you stumble backwards in alarm, backing right into Karkat’s desk. Where you normally feel the slipping sands of life trickling away from people and the looming doom of their death with him it’s missing entirely.

“You don’t die.” you breathe in horror.

“I die all the time, just doesn’t stick.” he replies calmly, still staring. 

“Is he one of your lot or Rose’s? I couldn’t work it out.” Karkat asks as he looks between the two of you, you’re still backed against the desk. This man SHOULD be dying, he should be bleeding out and rushing to his doom but it’s not there. Or maybe he’s just beyond it. 

“Same as me. I should bounce.” he sighs and turns for the door you came through, not that extra one. 

“Hey, when I said fuck off I didn’t mean you could leave without telling me what happened with Vriska.” Karkat calls after him. 

“It’s dealt with.” Dave says over his shoulder and walks out. 

“Rude. Thanks for bringing him back, Jade.” Karkat directs this comment to the woman in the doorway. Her body seems subtly wrong but she at least feels like she can die, even if it’s very far off. She’s not so unnerving. 

“It’s fine, I always like hanging out with Dave. Plus, Vriska’s in time out with me for a while, at least until her little followers cut that nonsense out.” she nods. 

“Rather you than me.” Karkat grimaces. 

Jade nods and waves goodbye with fingers that don’t seem… quite right. She closes the door and when you blink it’s gone. 

“Friends with monsters, huh?” you breathe a little shakily. 

“Mmm, speaking of.” Karkat points over your shoulder. You whirl on the spot expecting some other horror but it’s just a woman. She has jaw length bleached blonde hair and piercing purple eyes, dangling from her neck is a thin chain with a plethora of eye themed pendants hanging from it. 

“Sollux Captor, I see you want to make a statement.” she smiles at you. 

“Here, Dave said he’s associated with The End not The Eye so let me just…” Karkat peels one of the stickers off and hands the form to the woman. The form that said your name on it, that she hadn’t read before saying your name. 

“Wonderful, thank you Karkat.” she says absently as she looks over the form. 

“This rude fucker is Rose Lalonde, Head Archivist. She’s the one who takes the statements.” Karkat explains for you. 

“I’m also your boss.” Rose says with a frown directed at Karkat. 

“Tch, you also can’t fire me.” Karkat snorts. 

“You’re right, but I can do other things. For instance I see you got his number.” Rose smiles meanly. 

“That’s not- stop that!” Karkat hisses at her. 

Wasn’t that just a field on the form? What’re you missing here? 

“Come with me Sollux, I want to hear all about it.” Rose smiles and leads you from the room, leaving Karkat cursing behind you both. 

You kind of hope that you can see him again after this statement, or at least find out who he is. Your thoughts are so occupied with him that even after you’ve given your statement and spilled your guts on things you never mean to bring up-

...things you’ve never told anyone. 

Anyway, even after that you’re thinking about Karkat. Normal human guy who makes friends with monsters and has your number. You’re so focused on thinking about him that as you leave you don’t notice the way the wall that was previously covered in spiders is empty, or how the floor is littered with their upturned little bodies. You just want to find a reason to see Karkat again.


End file.
